Projects

Whether you’re a rural electric cooperative, a municipality, telecommunications or another organization exploring fiber opportunities, your goal is the same: find the optimal way to bring high-speed broadband to your community, constituents or customers. When you partner with Finley, you’ll experience an approach to network design and deployment that is as unique as your business. We don’t prescribe “one size fits all” solutions because every customer, network and business case are unique, layered and nuanced.

Border-to-Border Grant Success

Congratulations to our clients who collectively will receive nearly one third of the Minnesota Border-to-Border Grants! Finley Engineering’s Minnesota office worked with Hanson Communications, New Ulm Telecom, Sjoberg’s Inc., Wikstrom Telephone, and Woodstock Telephone Company to submit grant applications. Read more about their projects on our blog.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will award two-year grants totaling $26,475,556 to 39 projects in the fourth year of the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program. State grant dollars are matched by $34,247,590 in local funds, for a total investment in broadband infrastructure of $60,723,146.

Barry Electric Broadband – Missouri

Barry Electric Cooperative requested Finley’s assistance with a feasibility study, overall strategy planning, and potential funding sources for deploying a system-wide fiber network for both members and connectivity to downline devices. Upon completion of the design, cost estimate, and pro forma, the Board elected to proceed with the project utilizing Finley Engineering on multiple aspects of the project including transport routers, access equipment deployment, make-ready analysis, fiber contracts and construction project management services. At present, the project is wrapping up phase 3 of an 8 phase buildout.

Feasibility Studies

Finley has completed several feasibility studies for clients, incorporating our years of experience in broadband to lead with strategic discussions, ensuring a comprehensive end produce. The feasibility studies provide cost estimates, identify revenue streams, outline an implementation plan and examine financing options to implement each of the options identified in the study. Most often, in the feasibility study we help conduct a survey to learn the constituents’ interest in purchasing broadband services.

Finley Engineering was brought in by Southwest Electric Cooperative to assist with a high level design and feasibility study to extend fiber to member locations as well as downline devices for areas of their network in conjunction with areas of potential CAF Phase II funding census blocks. Work was completed on time, within budget, and presented to the management team and Board of Directors.

White River Valley Electric Cooperative requested Finley Engineering’s expertise with a high level design and feasibility study to extend fiber to member locations as well as downline devices for a target area of their network. Work on this project was also completed on time, within budget, and presented to the management team and Board of Directors.

Finley’s team in our Slayton office worked diligently with Woodstock Telephone Company, Wikstrom Telephone Company, Sjoberg’s Inc., New Ulm Telecom, Inc. and Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company to carefully complete applications for broadband projects primarily in the southern half of the state. Of the nine applications submitted, eight received awards for projects with the collective award value of $5,556,499 (over 16% of the total for the state).

Finley has been involved in 19 MN grant applications over all 3 years that the state has offered this program, and is committed to continuing our efforts toward leveling the broadband playing field for residents and businesses in rural areas.

Large National Telecom Carrier – Seattle/Portland

Inter-city Project – performed environmental filings, permitting, engineering, construction inspections, GIS/CAD, and other services for a fiber backbone project between Portland, OR and Seattle, WA.

Seattle Project – once the inter-city project was built, laterals were to be engineered and constructed within and near Seattle. Finley performed all of the same services for this portion of the project which involved both aerial and buried plant.

Portland Project – with the inter-city project in place, Finley was involved in a metro backbone ring with sub-loops to feed several business customers as well as interconnects to 3 other large carrier providers. This project involved the inspections and make-ready engineering on 70 miles of existing aerial plant in anticipation of an acquisition of this plant. The project also involved environmental filings, permitting, engineering, construction inspections, GIS/CAD, and other services for 25 miles of buried sub-loops.

Permitting for the above projects involved many different agencies such as cities, counties, states, railroads, multiple environmental agencies, and others.

Large National Telecom Carrier – Detroit/Ann Arbor

Detroit Metro Project – The project involved environmental filings, permitting, engineering, contract administration, construction management and inspections, GIS/CAD, and related services. The ring extended from the northern suburbs to the central business district of Detroit. This also involved construction of sub-loops and laterals to enterprise customers and interconnects to other carriers. The project consisted of a combination of aerial, buried and underground plant. Project length approximately 40 miles.

Ann Arbor Project – this involved the construction of an inter-connect route to another major carrier in Ann Arbor, MI. The project consisted of constructing new underground conduit plant, proofing of existing underground conduit and installation of new fiber optic cable in the underground conduit. Finley Engineering provided permitting, engineering, contract administration, construction management and inspections, GIS/CAD, and related services. Project length approximately 3 miles.

HBC (Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc.) Dan Pecarina, CEO

Finley has assisted HBC, a CLEC provider of voice/data/video services in their FTTH deployments in 10 Minnesota communities ranging in size to several hundred passings to over 10,000 passings. Finley’s services to HBC included the full list of services required for a CLEC FTTH deployment in several of the communities. Finley’s services for the remaining communities consist of network design, construction type and material recommendations, construction print creation, permitting, project problem resolution, and as-built record creation.

Since 2005 Finley Engineering has assisted Marshall Municipal Utilities (MMU) in the planning, budgeting and implementation of municipal utility owned fiber network. Beginning with the review of their network in 2005 and assessment of future needs Finley has assisted MMU in the progressive build out of their network to the present to serve the current and future needs of their municipal utility and their public entity partners in the local area. MMU offers dark fiber connections to public entity partners (State, County, City Public School) along with serving a local anchor institution. Finley provides project management, contract administration and implementation of the MMU fiber optic network and expansion projects. The fiber network is owned by the Municipal Electric Utility and it serves their own electrical substations, water, sewer facilities as well as other public facilities. There has been multiple projects implemented over the years and most all were on schedule and within budget.

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